Best products from r/CrestedGecko

I've never heard of this comparison between chameleons and cresteds, but I guess I'm not that familiar with chameleon temps/humidities. For a crested gecko, their ideal temperature is right around 75, and as far as humidity goes, you want to mist them in the evening to about 90% humidity and then it let it drop to the 50s. 18x18x24 is a perfect size for an adult crested gecko. This is the one I recommend, but you can probably shop around a little bit to find a slightly better price: http://www.amazon.com/Exo-Terra-Glass-Terrarium-24-Inch/dp/B000OAYXTK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453260720&sr=8-1&keywords=exo+terra+18x18x24 . Live plants I'm not familiar with, so I hope someone else here can you help with that. I highly recommend getting cork bark, I keep a flat and a round in each of my terrariums (http://imgur.com/tduiDxb this is how all of my terrariums are set up right now, Luci, the very grumpy gecko toward the bottom right, is sitting on the round), but I find the round is their favorite, they like using it to get all of their shed off, the big flat they more or less just use for climbing higher when they don't want to just walk on the glass. Food wise, you want to use pangea food. Some people prefer repashy, that's fine too, but I personally found when I switched my geckos from repashy to pangea, they ate 1000x better and looked 1000x healthier (they weren't unhealthy, they just seemed to take better to the pangea). http://www.pangeareptile.com/store/pangea-fruit-mix-banana-apricot-complete-gecko-diet.html This is my geckos' favorite one, but they also eat the watermelon/mango, and my youngest one also loves the insect one, but I couldn't get it to take with the geckos who just won't eat insects anymore. When they're babies, that's the best time to make sure you're supplementing with insects, that protein will help them grow.
What you put in the bottom of the terrarium is probably going to be dependent on live plants, so I'll leave that to the live plant experts on this thread.

I'm not 100% sure it will do fantastic on low/ground cover plants that need high light due to the height, but on my 18x18x24 and so far on our early-stage planted 24x18x36 these "aquarium" lights do a very good job:
https://www.amazon.com/NICREW-ClassicLED-Aquarium-Extendable-Brackets/dp/B01C84SLRO/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=nicrew&qid=1556543434&s=gateway&sr=8-1&th=1&psc=1

Get the size that the width your tank width is the smaller number in the range. It has feet that extend to reach the larger sizes, but for a vivarium ha having the light go all the way across is the best.

We mostly grow snake plant/pothos and bromeliads, but our bigger tank has a few ferns and other plants doing pretty well. Pothos grows like crazy if well watered under these. If you keep shade type plants near the bottom, it should do very well for those.

Yes, we use mesh on top of the bioballs to prevent the soil mix from draining into the drainage layer itself!
We haven't had to drain the drainage layer yet; Between the plant roots, substrate and bioballs all the waters been absorbed. Maybe it's something we'll have to do in the future though.

I've heard that native cleanup crew can take up residence themselves if you leave it as is. We established colonies of dwarf white isopods and springtails to prevent colonizers as I can be paranoid about what goes in with my scaled children and wanted to know what they were housed with! Haha!

As for the bioballs, I crept your profile and seen that you do a lot with various flora, so you probably already know what they are! :)
People just call them different things!

I added some Amazon links for a visual aid for you:

https://www.amazon.ca/Zoo-Med-HydroBalls-Lightweight-Terrarium/dp/B00167TXY0

https://www.amazon.ca/LiaFlor-Hydroton-Clay-Pebbles-litres/dp/B07K69QBGQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?keywords=clay+balls+hydroponic&qid=1571597940&sprefix=clay+balls&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyMFo5SVNHSURERjdUJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjcyMzYxMzlCV1NINkNFRVI4UCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMzA3MjM1MlJZOFFIUU9RRFZWWiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

Just be sure to wash them off first if you do go the clay ball route!

Good luck! Hope to see an update in the future! :)

ty! No, I just kinda built it around the plexiglass door I already had. The screen part was just one of these https://www.amazon.com/Exo-Terra-Screen-Cover-Gallon/dp/B00LH2ET20

I had to make a bunch of those doors at my old job, and I kept some of the rejects. they just sat around forever until I got a Crested Gecko and thought well that would be about perfect for a 20g door

Here's another conversion I did, same concept but with a small door made from a scrap piece. I made it for my day gecko when he was still small, but he has pretty much outgrown it already, I'm looking at upgrading him to a 18x18x36 zilla

that weird little piece is my magnetic door latch that I'm super proud of lol

I've never actually seen mine eat but I noticed my gecko eats a lot better after getting a magnetic ledge to hold the food up higher. When there small like that you usually don't even notice they eat anything (you can usually tell by little lick marks on the food) . However you don't want her to get used to hand feeding otherwise she won't eat by herself and then you have to hand feed her. Maybe get different types of pangea or repashy mixes and see if that helps her eat because she might just not like the food that much. Either way I think you should get her a ledge.

I got mine this from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Z7PIYHY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_kXr0BbE7MSDW1

This is the one I specifically use ( amazon ).

It does give off a pink tint because they're plant lights but my plants LOVE them. And I have it about three feet from the cage because I have it for other plants that I keep next to my setup. So I guess it's not directly on the gecko. Plus the fact that it's pink makes it less harsh on the eyes.

I also have this one and it also works great. Much smaller and gives off a white light so guests don't think it looks funny compared to the pink.

It's all up to you. They both have pros and cons and both work well.

It's primarily coco fibre, but it supports plant growth and is 100% safe from what I understand. Made for reptiles and amphibians

Shop for your best price but this is the stuff

https://www.amazon.com/Exo-Terra-Plantation-Soil-pack/dp/B007Z8JC3G/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2W9JHUZPFP4KW&keywords=plantation+soil+exo+terra&qid=1556513261&s=gateway&sprefix=plantation+soil&sr=8-1

If you have a screen top tank your best bet for warming ambient temps will be a Lamp dome and a ceramic heat lamp. Make sure you buy a Thermostat!!!.

A standard heat bulb can work but you will have to buy a standard for the day and a blue light heat lamp for night. another issue with that will you will need to buy 2 thermostats and 2 timers one for each bulb and turn them off at a set time. The Ceramic you will only need one with a thermostat and leave it on all the time(during the winter).

You can also just buy a nice space heater and heat the whole room. But you will prob notice the cost in your elec. bill depending on the size of the room. with just the ceramic heater you are only heating the tank.

Under tank heaters will only heat the soil and radiant heat panels are way to large for a crestie cage/tank.

some Ref. material (its for snakes but same goes for any reptile cage)
http://pet-snakes.com/5-ways-heat-snakes-cage

Edit: Forgot to add the CHL will dry out the air in the tank but if you mist often or monitor the humidity another way you should be fine.

Youtube vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWSLuq1rHDQ

They do best in 70-80° temperatures, so take care not to let it get too hot. Ceramic heat emitters are nice if you don't want light. Alternatively, a heat mat or flexwatt heat tape attached to the side of the enclosure are options. You could also consider getting a small space heater to raise the ambient temperature just in the room your crestie is in.

Whatever heat implement you go with, make sure you also get a thermostat, not just a thermometer. This will sit between your heater and the outlet and serve as a safety shut off in case something malfunctions and prevent it from overheating. The [Hydrofarm] (https://www.amazon.com/MTPRTC-Controller-Thermostat-Germination-Reptiles/dp/B000NZZG3S) brand is pretty well recommended and a decent inexpensive option. There are some quality reptile specific brands like Herpstat, but they are also pretty pricey and probably not worth it if you only have one tank to control the heat for.

This one! ☺️👌 It's neat, sturdy, and bendable!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078W3441Z?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

The white is just pee and it usually dries into a solid powder. I agree that your temperature is too high. You also need to be careful about too much humidity because this can lead to a respiratory infection and/or bacterial infections on the skin. Your current cage should retain a lot of humidity and if you add the Eco Earth that will also hold humidity. Because this cage has little ventilation you should uncover the top screen. The daytime humidity should be between 40-60% and 80-100% for a few hours after you mist, which should allow your cage to dry out. I use this spray bottle because it is more of a mister and my crestie doesn't seem bothered by it. It's also super easy to use. Also, I can't see if your crestie is sleeping upside down or not, but if so you might want to consider breaking the habit or be okay with the potential of floppy tail syndrome.

This plant is one of my crested's favorite places to sleep besides her coconut, she's usually sleeping inside it. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005EGS4M6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This vine is awesome, assembly is a little annoying and I had to trim the wire inside both of them a little but that was a non issue for me. It helps give my cresteds a way to easily move from side to side in their tanks without having to climb over the background or on the floor. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JYPRBO4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Amazon Cloud Cam Security Camera, Works with Alexa https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C4UY0JK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_U7B8BbSSYQB0P

It's great for that! My little one eats 3 times a night!

It's just this vine that I bought off of Amazon.

Emours Small Animal Bend-A-Branch... https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01JYPRBO4?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

He loves it!

I'm using a Sansi 15W LED Grow light in a reflector.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NCVWFUE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05__o00_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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My plants love it, I've trimmed quite a bit of plants and put them into other tanks.

I use like three of these suction cupped to the tallest part of the glass. My gecko loves to hide in them during the day.
https://www.amazon.com/Flukers-Repta-Vines-Pothos-Reptiles-Amphibians/dp/B0009YEB70/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1510986161&sr=1-1&keywords=reptile+foliage

I have one of these coconut hides and Saturn loves it, he's constantly climbing on it or in it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007PO3AEC/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_cmkYBbXSS487H

here's the exact link to the one I have! :)

not too bad, maybe a little more cover and I would recommend a ledge for their food
https://www.amazon.com/Mini-Magnetic-Gecko-Feeder-Ledge/dp/B00Z7PIYHY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1518591367&sr=8-3&keywords=crested+gecko+ledge

Got it on Amazon for like 8 bucks

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007PO3AEC/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527579465&sr=8-1&keywords=coconut+hide+gecko&dpPl=1&dpID=41hEkUoWkbL&ref=plSrch